Named after a sweet custard-filled pastry, Cream Pan is the kind of French/Japanese bakery that understands the power of whipped dairy. The long glass cases inside their massive Lomita bakeshop are lined with things like melon buns, custard cups, and shortcakes covered in homemade icing. No trip here is complete with one of their strawberry croissants, too—it tastes like a cross between puff pastry and profiterole, with sweet cream and strawberry slices oozing from flaky laminated dough.

Sweet Red Peach is an Inglewood landmark that’s home to LA’s best red velvet cake. Each thick slice is appropriately dense yet implausibly light, giving the silky cream cheese frosting several spongy, ruby-colored layers to cling onto. This strip mall spot is also rightly famous for its German chocolate cake and personal pans of peach cobbler. Don’t be intimidated if the line is out the door when you arrive—they’re extremely efficient here.

If you leave Gjusta without bread and/or baked goods, you’re not to be trusted. In addition to a full food menu, this Venice establishment offers a huge variety of bialys, bagels, sourdough loaves, and baguettes. Their baguettes are hard to beat, but focus on the pumpernickel and olive loaves if they're in stock. Even the butter you spread on top will be in awe of their herby notes and spongy texture. Meanwhile, it’s impossible to go past the pastry case and not consider at least five things.

This tiny Armenian spot bake shop in downtown Glendale only has two items on its menu: honey and pistachio baklava (spelled paxlava here) and the namesake zhengyalov hatz. And while we’re always down for a daytime dessert moment, the latter is the reason why people drive across town to eat here. This warm, doughy flatbread is wrapped around 15 aromatic herbs and greens and then griddled to order. What you end up with is a delicious, perfectly constructed wrap.

Rather than being famous for one item that blew up on social media, this family-run Lebanese bakery in Granada Hills makes over 70 different incredible things, including buttery cheese boats, falafel pies, and zesty za’atar saj. Even their shawarma is some of the best in town. Grab a sweet labneh and honey flatbread on the way out or don’t even bother telling people you came. And now that there are locations in Glendora, Calabasas, and San Diego, there’s no excuse to put off a visit.

Porto’s should need no introduction. But just in case you need a quick refresher, the family-run Cuban bakery has been serving guava pastries, potato balls, and every other baked treat under the Valley sun for the last 55 years. They’re the pride and joy of Burbank, and you should go here (or to any of their other locations) to join the lines of people waiting to stock up on their trademarked papa rellenas, which are deep-fried and filled with more meat than an Arby’s tagline.

Republique wears a lot of hats, some of them better than others. But one thing that’s not up for debate is Republique’s reputation as a pastry powerhouse. You won’t find a more attractive display case anywhere in LA, with tiered rows of custardy Basque cheesecakes, chocolate tarts with shiny ganache, and pain au chocolat piled on top of each other like fluffy pillows. They taste just as good as they look, and we suggest splurging on a box of these baked goods before they run out after brunch.

If you’ve ever ordered anything bread-related from a place in LA with cutesy menu fonts and small-batch coffee, you're likely familiar with Bub & Grandma's. The wholesale bakery has been supplying amazing baked goods around town for years but had never had a space of its own—until now. The Bub & Grandma’s cafe in Glassell Park is an homage to the early-morning American diner, complete with cushy white booths and a wrap-around counter.

Long Beach's Gusto Bread is a new-wave panadería specializing in pan and pan dulce made with natural yeasts and heirloom grains. You’ll find beautiful seeded loaves, studded with sunflower, pumpkin, and poppy seeds that go nicely with a cup of coffee, or just a quick smear of butter. Semi-sweet pan loaves are made with house-milled yellow corn, and conchas come with a thick sugar cookie frosting that's the right amount of sweet.

If you’ve never had a crush on a baked good, you will after a few bites of Gemmae’s specialties, like sugar-coated Spanish bread oozing buttery cheese filling or a soft ensaymada stuffed with pandan and ube. The order station up front is lined with packaged baked goods like bright red longganisa pandesal, a luscious meat-stuffed roll with the luscious fluff of a donut hole. Plus, they’ve got a hot bar in the back with rotating Filipino fast food.